2 for 2: Lady Tigers knock off Unioto for 2nd straight year; win sectional title

      In a game where players were patient, combined with big shots and lengthy scoring runs, the Lady Tigers repeated the same feat as they did one year ago, defeating the state-ranked Unioto Lady Sherman-Tanks 56-47 for a Division II SE District Sectional championship.

      Unioto (20-2) entered the sectional with a No. 1 seed, and just like last season, the Lady Tigers didn't fold but rose to the occasion, holding off every rally by the Lady Shermans en route to their second straight sectional crown.

      "In this sectional you have to play your best game if you want to get out of it," McClain head coach Dennis Overstake said. "You must bring your best team."

      And that is what the Lady Tigers did for a majority of the minutes Saturday afternoon at Adena High School, with junior Chrissy Cobb raising her level of play in the third quarter. Cobb finished the game with 10 points.

      The Lady Tigers led by three points at the start of the third (18-15) but started the quarter sluggish with two turnovers on their first two possessions. After the Lady Shermans came within one point of tying the game with a jumper by sophomore Erin Bane, Cobb knocked down what would be her first 3-pointer of the quarter, taking the shot just in front of her bench to put MHS up 21-17 with 5:41 left in the third.

      UHS came back with four straight points to tie the game at 21, but Cobb answered with two inside points, while being defended by two Unioto players to put MHS back in the top spot.

      With the game tied at 23 after two points from Bane, MHS senior Kate Hammond, who scored a game-high 18 points, broke the tie with 4:08 left in the quarter as she was fouled while making the inside bucket.

      The game was then tied for the third time in the quarter with points from UHS junior Mackenzie Arledge, but just like the previous times in the same frame, Cobb answered with a jump shot.

      Cobb for the third time broke a tie with 1:47 as she nailed her second 3-pointer of the quarter, followed with two points by senior Megan Saylor to put the Lady Tigers up 32-27 with 1:19 left in the third frame. The Lady Tigers went on a 7-0 tear as Hammond added to the scoring with two points giving MHS a seven-point advantage.

      The fourth started off with McClain leading by four points, but the lead was quickly chopped in half with Arledge connecting twice from the free-throw line.

      But when shots were needed, the Lady Tigers responded as senior Cortney Hyer went nothing but net from the three-point line as she sank a corner 3-ball right in front of her own bench for a 37-32 MHS lead with 7:11 left in the sectional final. Hyer wrapped up the sectional win with 10 points.

      The trey was equalled when UHS senior Chloe Cottrell connected from beyond the arc. The two-point lead by MHS increased moments later when Hammond scored off a UHS turnover, followed with a 3-ball by Hyer (her second in a span of just over two minutes) to jump the Lady Tigers ahead by a score of 42-35.

      "We had to change up our defenses throughout the game. We had to make them see different looks and just change defenses up," Overstake said.

      After the Lady Tigers forced a jump ball, sophomore Jenna Perie flexed her muscle with four straight points, netting a stop-and-go jumper and two points off a put back basket while inside the paint.

      "I can't say enough about Jenna and what she does for us," Overstake said. "We must have her as our sixth man off the bench to be a successful team."

      With 2:12 remaining in the game Hyer netted her eighth point of the quarter, but wasn't finished as the senior connected twice more from the free-throw line at the 1:46 mark for a 50-38 Lady Tiger advantage.

      Unioto continued to fight by scoring two points from junior Janae Driggs (who made a 3-ball earlier in the quarter), but McClain senior Shelby Buck went 2 of 2 from the free-throw line to put MHS up 14 points. Buck sank two more free throws with 52.6 left for a 10-point MHS lead. The Lady Tigers ended the sectional contest with free throws from Hammond and Saylor.

       "Unioto is a tough team to beat," Overstake said. "They are well coached and have a core group coming back again next year. When you look at last year and this year for us, we are almost the same team as we have a core back from that team, even though we graduated seven good seniors from last year."

      The aforementioned patience of the Lady Tigers showed in the opening frame with MHS working their passing game for the perfect shot, as they led 11-5 after the first eight minutes.

      Saylor, Hammond and Perie contributed the 11 points of scoring for MHS in the first quarter, with Hammond netting seven, including a three-point play.

      There was more scoring in the second quarter by the Lady Shermans as they come within three points of MHS at the conclusion of the half at 18-15.

      MHS led 16-8 with 3:52 left in the quarter after senior Alex Taylor made a free throw for MHS. But with players in foul trouble in the quarter, UHS took full advantage with seven straight points to cut the MHS lead to 16-15. Sammy Rooks scored the final two points of the half for MHS.

      "Defensively we had trouble matching up with Unioto, but Megan and Jenna stepped up for us," Overstake said. "UHS made nice adjustments and made a run on us, but we took away their penetration and that was a big key to getting this win."

      Perie led MHS in rebounding with 10, followed by Cobb (5), Saylor (4) and Hammond (5). MHS shot 18 of 36 from the floor for 50 percent. UHS was 17 of 44 for 39 percent.

      Each team had 18 turnovers.

      The victory puts MHS at 18-3 overall, with this being their second tournament win this postseason.

      The Lady Tigers will play again on Thursday, Feb. 25 as they will play in the district semifinals at Southeastern High School. 

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY QUARTERS

MHS - 11 7 16 22 - 56

UHS - 5 10 15 17 - 47

INDIVIDUAL STATS

MHS (56)

Rooks 1 2, Cobb 2 (2) 10, Saylor 1 3-6 5, Hyer 0 (2) 4-4 10, Hammond 7 4-8 18, Buck 0 4-4 4, Taylor 0 1-2 1, Perie 3 6. TOTALS: 14 (4) 16-24 56.

UHS (47)

Davis 1 0-2 2, Cottrell 3 (2) 1-4 13, Driggs 3 (2) 3-6 15, Bane 3 6, Elliott 0 1-2 1, Arledge 3 4-4 10. TOTALS: 13 (4) 9-19 47.